Abstract
Youth's fashion changes over the year. Presently, however,
we often see young girls wearing miraculous (maybe even sometimes
ridiculous) outfits with platform shoes that even we feel strange
looking at. To understand this fashion, which is commonly called
"Gyaru," we surveyed over a hundred girls who were
shopping in the fashionable Shibuya district; additionally, we
talked to experts, examined printed and internet sources, and
were able to find many interesting facts and opinions. In
researching the "gyaru" look and considering all the
data, we found some revealing inconsistencies that show a
division within this fashion subculture. That is, without
intending to, we identified two different groups of
"gyarus.".
Introduction
Shibuya. This may be the place that many foreigners get a
surprising welcome from the new Japanese culture. One sees girls
in boots with solid platform soles (usually over 10 centimeters
high!) and bright colored tight mini-skirts. They, girls have
blond (or white) hair and wear shimmering makeup called
"lame". Tanning seems to a part of their everyday life.
Some of them have skin tanned to look like that of Africans.
Fashion is one's value. We have no offence for it. However,
September 2, 1999, a 25-year-old woman died from a bone marrow
fracture. The police announced that the women probably tripped
and fell because of her 10 centimeters high sandals with solid
platform soles. We started to think that this fashion was going
too far. Why do these young girls wear platform shoes that may
injure them? What is the motivation behind their fashion?
Method
To find the answer to these questions, we went to Shibuya to
survey girls who wear platform shoes--a style commonly known
"gyaru". The store 109 Shibuya is known as a symbol of
"gyaru". Unfortunately, the day we went to Shibuya was
raining. We had guessed that not many people would be in town on
a bad weather day. However, to our surprise, the
"gyarus" were all over Shibuya. It seemed that rain
does not stop these girls from their favorite brand shops! We
interviewed and got 100 "gyarus" to answer our survey
questions.
We also got the opportunity to interview Mr. Katsukawa, who
works at Shufu no Tomo company as a sales staff for the
magazine called Cawaii!. The reason we decided on this
magazine, Cawaii!, was that it is a fashion magazine.
You might think, "Well, aren't other magazines fashion
magazines too?". We bought other magazines as well, when we
were choosing which magazine to interview. A magazine such as
egg does have some fashion pages. Yet it mainly
emphasizes on the "gyaru"'s lifestyle, their way of
dating guys, and so on. Consequently, we determined that
Cawaii! better fits our view (to study "gyaru"
through their fashion). Cawaii! sells over 300,000
copies per year, and most of their readers are high schoolers.
Many of the readers, we believe, are "gyaru".
Newspapers and magazines discussed "gyaru" as well.
Asahi Shimbun Weekly AERA article, "Overpowering
Gyaru's Truth," and The Japan Times Weekly ST
's "HOW HIGH CAN YOU GO?" had interesting
perspectives on "gyaru". Besides newspapers and
magazines, we got some appealing data through the Internet. Japan
Consumer Information Center researched on the number of accidents
caused by women's shoes. Also, another interesting survey was
done on "gyaru"s' fashion by an organization called
ING. On October 22nd 1999, they surveyed 200 high school
students in Shibuya. Since some of the questions were different
from ours, we found the material quite useful. We also found on
the Internet an article by Syuntaro Torigoe, who is a journalist
and also an announcer of TV-Asahi. In his essay, Torigoe points
out the merits and demerits of platform shoes.
Results
Here are the results of our research. Please refer to the graphs
from our
survey, graphs from survey done by ING (both on a seperate
page), the content of the interview we
had with Mr. Katsukawa of Cawaii! magazine, and our
examination of some news reports concerning
"gyaru."
Interview with Mr.
Katsukawa
Q: Is there a definition for the word "Gyaru"?
A: I think it depends on the "gyarus"
themselves. Some may say that "gyarus"
are people who dress like a flirt, others may say
people who look cute.
Q: When did platform shoes, mini-skirt,
blond hair, wigs, flamboyant makeup and nails come
into fashion?
A: Platform shoes--they started
to attract attention since this spring. Mini- skirts-fashion
comes in a cycle. Mini-skirts were in fashion 3-4years
ago too. Guys like mini-skirts. Maybe girls who
want to be popular wear them. Blond hair-started
about 1-1.5 years ago. Wigs--they are out of fashion
now. Makeup--Do you mean lame makeup? The boom started
about two years ago.
Q: Are there certain brands that
your readers prefer?
A: 109 Brands (especially
Egoist, CoCoLuLu, and Kapalua).
Q: Why do the models in our magazine
prefer tanned skin?
A: I do not know. Our models and
readers are not "Yamanba Gyaru" (meaning
"gyarus" that have extremely white hair
and extremely tanned skin ).
Q: What are some differences between
Cawaii! and other magazines.
A: It is a fashion magazine so, the content of
the magazine is mainly clothes beauty. High quality. Compared
with other magazines, we have the readers model for us. Therefore
Cawaii! becomes more real to the readers.
Gyaru in the Media
According to the article "Overpowering 'Gyaru"
's Truth" in AERA (1999), "[G]yarus"
believe that they have a 'limit'. This 'limit'
means that they only have a certain amount of time that they can
be "gyaru"(p.36). Likewise, AERA (1999) points
out that these "gyarus" have a reason to dress how they
dress. The reason may be that their fashion is revenge against
the Japanese society's traditional value (p.36).
AERA also stated that they do not dress flashily because
they want to attract people's eyes (especially guys).
In addition, Juliet Hindell, a BBC correspondent also
mentions her opinion on young girls fashion (especially on
platform shoes) in the article, "HOW HIGH CAN YOU GO?".
According to Hindell (1999), "My mother's generation
wore extremely pointed shoes that squeezed their toes together.
They were truly fashion victims, suffering immense pain to look
fashionable. Many are now old ladies and their feet are still
molded into the shape of those trendy pointed shoes. While the
fashion may last just one year, the side effects can last a
lifetime"(p.24).
We found Japan Consumer Information Center
(JICC) had gathered statistics on the number of
accidents caused by women's shoes. According to JCIC
(1999), "since 1989, 203 accidents caused by women's
shoes, have been reported. Of these 203 cases, 80 cases (40% of
the total) are by platform shoes". 10?30 years old women are
the main victims of these platform shoes. Most of the injuries
from the accidents are not critical. However, 9 bone fracture
cases have been reported.
Last of all, we would like to introduce the journal written by
Mr. Torigoe. According to Torigoe (1999), "the trend of
platform shoes arrived around 1996. It is said that many people
were influenced by the famous singer Namie Amuro. Last summer the
trend of platform sandals arrived. These were sandals which had
almost 15 centimeters high soles". Torige also points out
that the reason why "gyaru" wears platform shoes is
simply because they look glamorous. By wearing them, it makes
their legs look longer and make their first impression taller.
Additionally, these shoes are some kind of self-satisfaction for
the girls who are distress about their appearance. Besides these
merits, Torigoe also claims that platform shoes have demerits as
well. First of all, one could tell that they are cheating their
appearance so easily. This makes them look weird. Secondly,
"gyaru" 's way of walking is awkward. The way that
Japanese women walk (bending their knees slightly and taking
short strides) did not have a good reputation in the
international society. The arrival of platform shoes trend has
made this reputation even worse. The worst point of platform
shoes is that thaty are dangerous.
Discussion
Both the age groups of Group N and
Y are concentrated betweeen 17-19 years old.
Only few people belong to the 20-22 years old group and none of
the people we took survey from was over 23. This is the syndrome
that Asahi Shinbun Weekly AERA calls, "the
limit". This limit means a certain amount of time that they
can be "gyaru". In AERA, a "gyaru"
commented that, " if we pass 20, we will graduate from
'gyaru'. " The "gyaru" also told
AREA that being over 20, and still looking like a
"gyaru" is stupid. From these comments we can supposed
that the "gyaru" thinks that their fashion contain a
bit of stupidity. However, are we the only ones that think they
look stupid enough without being 20 or over?
From the data we took about the "gyarus" occupation,
the majority of the people are university students. In addition,
although Group N includes people that are full
time workers, in Group Y there are none. In
contrast to this, Group Y includes vocational
school students, but Group N includes none.
Perhaps, the main reason why many "gyarus" are
university students is that they have a lot more freedom
(compared with other students--for example, junior high and high
school students). High school students have many school rules
that they have to follow. People who have a job also have rules
that they have to keep as being a member of the Japanese society
or a worker of the company. However, vocational school students
have the same freedom as the university students. In Japan there
is this word, "university debut". Becoming a university
students means that one have no more strict rules that they have
to follow (especially about one's appearance). Thus, people
tend to change their image drastically. This 'image
changing' may be a change of their fashion. This can be a
possible reason of the numerous university
"gyarus".
But we can see differences between the two groups emerge.
Group N's answers to the question,
"where do you usually shop?", varied. However,
Group Y's answers were only Shibuya and
Ikebukuro. Shibuya, Ikebukuro, and Shinjyuku are the place that
"gyaru" fashion is born. Therefore, shopping in these
areas is natural for the "gyarus" because they want to
be in the center of the trend. It is predictable that
Group Y, people claiming to be "gyaru"
, shop mainly in Shibuya and Ikebukuro. Plus, these three cities
are places that you can easily find "gyaru" clothing.
"Gyaru" fashion or the "gyaru" clothing
stores, we can not confidently say which one comes first. It is
like saying, "which comes first, chicken or the
egg?"
Likewise, to the question, " do you think you are
fashionable?", 31% of the Group N answered
yes, but 45% of the Group Y answered yes. This
is related to the first question ("Do you think you are a
'gyaru'?") we asked before questioning to the
"gayrus". Group Y, we assumed that
they think that they are in fashion. Group N, we
concluded that they think they are not fashionable enough or they
are not "gyaru" enough. Group N have a
feeling of envy for the "gyarus". Furthermore, people
of Group N are more modest about their
appearance compared with Group Y. Perhaps, they
confirm that they are "gyaru" by denying that they are
"gyaru" and being told by the people around them they
are one. The interesting thing was that even though we took
surveys from the people we think are "gyrau", we found
many girls denying it.
Furthermore, approximately 50% of Group N
answered that they think "gyaru" fashion is cute to the
question, "what do you think of 'gyaru'?". This
shows their strong envies toward "gyaru". Yet, about
30% of Group N said "gyaru" has no
individuality. To a non-"gyaru" (like us), we see no
difference between Group N and
Y. For this reason it was surprising to get
"no individuality" for this question from Group
N. Group N may have mixed feelings
toward the "gyarus". Even though they envy the
"gyarus", they still criticize them.
For the question, "do you think you dress the same as
your friends?", 56% Group Y answered, yes.
We can determine that even though they admit that they are
"gyaru", they are aware of the fact that they look the
same and have no individuality. On the other side, 44% of
Group Y answered "no". The denying and
confirming that we mentioned before may be applied to this answer
as well. Three fourth of both Group N and
Y said that they earn their money for their
fashion from working (Arbeit). This is natural since many of the
"gyaru" we took surveys from were university students.
We also found interesting data from this question, "how do
you earn the money for your fashion?". Many of the people
believing that they are "gyaru" get an allowance from
their parents. Considering this fact, we can say that the parents
of the Group Y are more indulgent to their
children compared with Group N. Helping children
that dress like a "gyaru", to us seems ridiculous. Are
the parents of Group Y scared of their children?
Are they praising their children? We can't say, but we can
say that the parents of the "gyaru" generation are
changing as well.
For the question, "how much money do you spend a month on
fashion?", we were given amazing answers. Many from
Group N answered yen 80,000; and many from
Group Y said yen 100,000. Members of both groups
seem to spend excessive amounts of money on their fashion. Since
most of the "gyaru" have employment (arbeit), one can
say that they are working for their fashion and nothing else. Why
are they addicted to their clothes? We can not understand.
However, to the "gyarus", clothing themselves with
"gyaru" fashion and being in (so-called) style may help
them establish their identity. Fashion may be their identity
itself. It seems preposterous to spend this much money on a
fashion that changes constantly, but if this is the "gyaru
's way to confirm their identity, it may well be a way.
Many people in Group N disliked the
"gyaruo" (the male fashion version of the
"gyaru"), but 17% of Group Y said that
they we "okay". We think that Group Y
feel a sense of similarity toward "gyaruos" since they
tan their skin, dye their hair, and look like a guy version of
"gyaru". To deny or criticize the "gyaruo",
is to deny and criticize themselves. Oppositely, Group
N denied the "gyaruo". Group
N wants to be a part of the "gyarus"; however,
they do not want to be grouped with the "gyaruos". From
the both groups, we get answers saying that "gyaruo" is
out of fashion or have no individuality. It is odd that even
though they look alike, some of the "gyarus" dislike
them.
90% of both groups said they wear platform shoes. Without
platform shoes, their fashion can not exist. They must have a
pair. Since we asked only to the people with platform shoes, the
result was predictable. The 10% who answered that they do not
have a pair of platform shoes, may have thought that their shoes
were not high enough. Yes or no, which ever they answered, to us
they were wearing high enough or even too high platform shoes.
Many people in Group N reads a typical
"gyaru" fashion magazines such as egg or
Cawaii!. However, many people in Group
Y reads JJ or CanCam, a more mature
magazine compared with egg and Cawaii!. This
data also shows the Group N's feel of envy
they have for the "gyarus". The members of
Group N are trying to become a complete
"gyarus"; the members of Group Y,
looking for a new trend.
We can observe Group N's feeling toward
"gyaru" by looking at the answers of the question,
"what do you think of 'gyaru'?". The number one
answer to this question was "cute". Next came "not
interested" and "no individuality". Even though
many girls of Group N want to be (at least think
"gyaru" are some what attractive) a "gyaru",
it seems that they can not quite be a complete "gyaru".
Since "gyaru" are not truly welcomed in Japanese
society, they may be afraid of the society's criticism if
they become a "gyaru". To the contrary, Group
Y seems to be ignorant about other people. They do not
care what other people think of them or their fashion.
Nevertheless, they wear platform shoes that they claim that it
makes their legs look longer. They want to be in the center of
people's attention. These voices of the "gyarus"
are opposite of each other and we found it very hard to
understand.
The answered varied for the question, "how do you feel to
be called 'gyaru'?". Since Group N
denies being"gyaru", we only asked Group
Y to answer this question. Most answered that they were
uncomfortable to be called "gyaru". Many said they do
not know (or do not care?) how they feel. Only 11% said they are
delighted. Perhaps, many people who answered "do not
know" were delighted as well. We think that they really do
not hate to be called "gyaru". If they truly hated to
be called "gyaru", why would they dress to be called
one? Tanned skin, mini skirts, and platform shoes. Their fashion
seems to be out of our common sense. Our society does not welcome
them. "Gyarus" feel insecure and do not know where they
belong in the society. They do not know what they, themselves
are. Fashion may be the answer to the insecurity they have.
Fashion may be the identity they are urging for.
All these survey questions we asked come back to the question
of "Do you think you are a Gyaru"? To this question 90%
of them who we identified as "gyaru" answered that they
aren't. From this result, you may think that they don't
want to admit that they are "gyaru", but we think it is
the opposite. They want to be identified as "gyaru"
since "gyaru" is a big trend now. By saying they are
not "gyaru", they are waiting to get objected. From
this they could identify that everybody else sees you as
"gyaru". As we said earlier we think "gyaru"
is only a trend, and people who are "gyaru" are just
trying to be in the extreme part of the trend.
Thinking about trend another question comes to mind. That is
"why do people go after trend?" We think the answer to
this is because it is the easiest way to be fashionable. Fashion
is the easiest way to judge someone and it is important for
expressing oneself. When you were in elementary school,
didn't you ever felt like a fish out of water just because
you had some different clothes on? We think the sense of value
towards fashion is similar to the example we just gave you.
Almost all of "gyarus" have Louis Vutton
because it is the safest brand to own. If you are wearing
LV, some people may judge you as 'fashionable',
but nobody will judge you badly. It's safe to dress the way
as everybody else because everyone else is dressing the same way
too. In other words, we finally view the "gyarus" as
conformists. Even though they seem to have their own culture, it
is really more a subculture that is still very Japanese. And
although the differences between Group Y and
Group N are very interesting, we don't think
the differences are enough to make two distinct subcultures.
by Anna Nagamine, Kitahara Azusa,
Banri Oniki and Hitomi Ogawa
References
The references are "still under preparation".
We're sorry! For now, please refer to in-text citation. Thank
you!
